And you thought your job was tough...

[Liquid_Turbo]

So the deadliest and hazardous most backbreaking job in the world pays 22-32 CENTS an hour.

This is where ships and workers go to die.



Full documentary:



This is truly heart breaking stuff to me. How is it that we are in the 21 century, yet there are people out there that have to work harder than slaves in such conditions? I find it remarkable that someone is completely ok profitting off these poor Bangladesh workers.

This is the first time I've ever heard of something like this before. I did a little reading on wikipedia:

"Until the late 20th century, ship breaking took place in port cities of industrialized countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States. Today, most ship breaking yards are in developing countries, with the largest yards at Gadani in Pakistan, Alang in India, Chittagong in Bangladesh and Aliaga in Turkey. This is due to lower labor costs and less stringent environmental regulations dealing with the disposal of lead paint and other toxic substances. Some "breakers" still remain in the United States which work primarily on government surplus vessels. There are also some in Dubai, UAE for tankers. China used to be an important player in the 1990s. It is now trying to reposition itself in more environmentally friendly industries"

C'mon, we are in the 21 century, is this the best we can do? These poor folks are essentially working harder than slaves. 7 days a week, 12+ hours a day, 22-32cents an hour.

Someone out there is profitting off these people's backs, and probably 'ok' with it.

Unbelievable.

 

[Astro14]

Welcome to the real world...India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are all in this business...no OSHA, no EPA, no workers' rights...just dirt-poor, starving people who are willing to take the work...

For the record, USN ships have to be scrapped in the US...so we pay about 10 times as much...

 

[OVERKILL]

No different then our thirst for cheap goods from China. Unfortunately, those willing to take the effort; to make a stand and avoid purchasing products produced under these types of conditions are few and far between. So big business will continue to exploit these situations because ultimately their customers simply don't care, or aren't going to take issue with it even if they do.

 

[Mr Nice]

Thats why I can never understand when a person in America complains about their job. They really don't know how lucky they are to be here and not some 3rd world rectum of country working like a slave.

 

[CharlieJ]

Welcome to the circle of life.

 

[wallyuwl]

Don't say it, don't say it, don't say it... (or type it)

I'm not referring to the video.

 

[Spyder7]

Interesting comments in the last minute of the clip regarding the WTO and its indifference toward any kind of international worker/labor standards. Nothing new in that regard, whether its in Bangladesh or any developing country.

The video illustrates well the kinds of things desperate people who live in developing countries with no labor standards have to do to survive.

Kind of shows to me, too, how much of life is left to luck - in this case of birth. People struggle in NA too, but if you're born here you really are born into opportunities due solely to citizenship (and maybe others too, depending on family and genetic factors). Born in a place like that though its so different from our experience. Less there about socio-economic mobility, as it is here, and more about pure survival in a truly Darwinian environment.

-Spyder

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: Liquid_Turbo
So the deadliest and hazardous most backbreaking job in the world pays 22-32 CENTS an hour.

Someone out there is profiting off these people's backs, and probably 'ok' with it.

Unbelievable.

Originally Posted By: Astro14
Welcome to the real world...India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are all in this business...no OSHA, no EPA, no workers' rights...just dirt-poor, starving people who are willing to take the work...

For the record, USN ships have to be scrapped in the US...so we pay about 10 times as much...

CBS' 60 minutes had a episode about this ship breaking yards in Bangladesh few years ago. These slave workers are working for some Bangladesh companies, they bought the discarded ships from all over the world to recycle to steel.

IIRC the CEO/owners of these companies make a ton of money while exploiting the slave workers of their own people.

The shipping companies are making money too by selling these old ships to companies in Bangladesh at a a good price instead of paying to dismantle the old ships in their own countries.

 

[daves87rs]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Thats why I can never understand when a person in America complains about their job. They really don't know how lucky they are to be here and not some 3rd world rectum of country working like a slave.




True..but we're on the fast track there...

 

[Liquid_Turbo]

Originally Posted By: daves87rs
Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Thats why I can never understand when a person in America complains about their job. They really don't know how lucky they are to be here and not some 3rd world rectum of country working like a slave.




True..but we're on the fast track there...


You're actually trying to make a comparison between the shipbreakers and the situation in North America? Gimme a break!

 

[HTSS_TR]

Originally Posted By: HTSS_TR

CBS' 60 minutes had a episode about this ship breaking yards in Bangladesh few years ago. These slave workers are working for some Bangladesh companies, they bought the discarded ships from all over the world to recycle to steel.

IIRC the CEO/owners of these companies make a ton of money while exploiting the slave workers of their own people.

The shipping companies are making money too by selling these old ships to companies in Bangladesh at a a good price instead of paying to dismantle the old ships in their own countries.

Here is the 60 minutes story about ship breakers in Bangladesh, it was broadcasted in Nov 2006.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/03/60minutes/main2149023.shtml

 

[Liquid_Turbo]

Originally Posted By: CharlieJ

Welcome to the circle of life.


Quality post and insightful discussion!

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: LT4 Vette
Thats why I can never understand when a person in America complains about their job. They really don't know how lucky they are to be here and not some 3rd world rectum of country working like a slave.


Poor logic. Just because someone has it worse(and someone always does), doesn't mean a person doesn't have the right to better working conditions here.
Can I steal your car every couple months, because atleast you have a car and most people don't?

Really I think this ship breaking scheme shows how little some large corporations really care about people or the planet. If it helps the bottom line and it won't get their reputation tarnished, they will drop any semblence of morality.

 

[Tempest]

Quote:
they will drop any semblence of morality.

You do realize that their government is allowing this practice? And I think a better question is why aren't there better, safer jobs for these people? You will find that answer in the actions of their government over the last few decades.

Quote:
But there is another side to the story, as one worker puts it: "Forget toxic fumes and chemicals, I might die due to poverty," says 33-year-old Rafiq Sheikh, a migrant labourer and father of four who moved to Alang in 1993.

And:
Quote:
There are only two doctors caring for the workers at the government hospital. As some officials admit, the mock safety drills and workshops that were promised by the government and yard’s owners happen infrequently at best.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/10/india_shipbreaking.php

 

[kb01]

I can't help to think that in the next few decades that our standard of living will fall and the third world will rise until some kind of equilibrium is hit.

 

[PandaBear]

Welcome to the market economy, the oldest form of economy of the world and the most efficient. Hey, even the animal world does it and size their reproduction's quality vs quantity the same way we do.

It really is unfortunate, but like you all said it is the real world where effort is not equal to return and it is more about who your parents are than what you do and how well you do it. I do not however agree that it is a citizenship issue as there are many overlap between the wealthy 3rd world elite to the poor developed world slum dwellers who starve to death.

Someone has to do the job, unless the lowest cost labor in the 3rd world becomes so expensive that someone invented automation to do it and we can bring it back to the developed world to do this, but then the jobs are lost forever.

 

[addyguy]

I probably shouldn't post this, but I will anyway.

Until those countries learn the value of human life and health, this situation will not change, and we cannot try to force them TO change.

Long ago, our countires praticed similar things - slavery, and the work-to-death life of the uneducated, unwashed lower class. Then, these people started to realize that they deserved better, and stated to fight back, bit by bit.

And then, the upper classes started to realize that we were all better off treating people better. Hence you got working standards, better pay, a better political system. Countires went from being barbaric 3rd world-styl countries, to being the 1st-class powerhouses they are today.

But, we had to learn this, and be smart enough to recognize the value of things functioning like this. These countires, and the people in them, are simply to uneducated and too unintelligent as a whole to realize that societies benefit from people being treated better. when they learn the value of it, they will most likely implement it.

It took time for us to develop to that level, and it will for them too.

 

[IndyIan]

Originally Posted By: addyguy
I probably shouldn't post this, but I will anyway.

Until those countries learn the value of human life and health, this situation will not change, and we cannot try to force them TO change.

Long ago, our countires praticed similar things - slavery, and the work-to-death life of the uneducated, unwashed lower class. Then, these people started to realize that they deserved better, and stated to fight back, bit by bit.

And then, the upper classes started to realize that we were all better off treating people better. Hence you got working standards, better pay, a better political system. Countires went from being barbaric 3rd world-styl countries, to being the 1st-class powerhouses they are today.

But, we had to learn this, and be smart enough to recognize the value of things functioning like this. These countires, and the people in them, are simply to uneducated and too unintelligent as a whole to realize that societies benefit from people being treated better. when they learn the value of it, they will most likely implement it.

It took time for us to develop to that level, and it will for them too.

The problem is though that these places aren't in a vacuum, 9 times out of 10, foreign money is making someone local relatively rich who now can buy off the local government and keep the scheme going, with the odd "accidental" death or even very open killing of folks trying to improve their conditions.

 

[Tempest]

Quote:
Until those countries learn the value of human life and health, this situation will not change, and we cannot try to force them TO change.


When India won its independence from England, Gandhi strongly pushed his Swadeshi principle which is based on the country, and small communities within, being economically independent and shunning foreign trade. This had predicable results and crashed their economy and has remained devastated for decades.

Just in the last few years have they started to become more market based and begun to improve their people's living standard.

 

[PandaBear]

Originally Posted By: Tempest
When India won its independence from England, Gandhi strongly pushed his Swadeshi principle which is based on the country, and small communities within, being economically independent and shunning foreign trade. This had predicable results and crashed their economy and has remained devastated for decades.

Just in the last few years have they started to become more market based and begun to improve their people's living standard.


The problem is not as simple as you said. India was not a middle class based population like the US is. Compare to them we are all in the super wealthy and middle class as we get cash rather than having lower classes work as a servant for left over food, clothes, and shelters like slaves. You can bet that trades wouldn't be fair as they would have been strong armed into unfair trade anyways.

If India enter market economy rather than protecting itself early on, those would be trades that benefit the average economy but does not benefit the lower classes population. The problem was the nation was too relying on trading with the UK empire and only too few benefit as a result, relying too much on opium trade, relying too much on sugar, cotton, tea, etc. That didn't change until the increased availability of education and high tech that brings opportunities to more people (again, still not everyone, but at least the middle class have a better shot now than before).

To blame it on Gandi is ridiculous. Do you think the average Indians (as well as Pakistani) were better off with UK being their boss than their own? Do you think market economy would serve them better when they are the slave?